New Delhi: The plea of a woman seeking interim maintenance from her estranged husband has been dismissed by a Delhi court which noted that she had previously claimed to be "financially sound" while fighting a case for her child's custody.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala upheld the magisterial court's order that had dismissed the woman's plea in 2013, saying that the woman voluntarily portrayed herself as a destitute.
"The change in the stand taken by the appellant (woman) before the courts in different proceedings, is sufficient ground to caste a doubt over the genuineness of her requirement," the ASJ said while noting that she claimed to be financially stable when she was fighting a custody battle for her minor son in the past.
"The destitution should not be an outcome of voluntary act, rather it must be due to certain circumstances beyond control of concerned claimant. It is apparent in this case that the woman herself claimed to be financially sound so as to be capable to maintain herself and her son in a previous case.
"However, when she lost the case of custody of child, she all of a sudden claimed to be at the verge of starvation," the ASJ said, while dismissing her appeal.
The woman had appealed against a 2013 order of a magisterial court which denied her the interim maintenance in a case of domestic violence and dowry demand.
She had contended that her husband used to harass her for dowry and used to ill-treat her. She claimed that she moved to a rented accommodation with her minor son.
She had sought maintenance from her husband and claimed that she was on the verge of starvation while her husband was earning over Rs 50,000 per month through his coaching centre.
The woman also claimed that her husband had created circumstances which compelled her to stop working, and trial court did not consider the same.
Her husband, however, had rejected the allegations and claimed that the woman earned well through tailoring work.
PTI
First Published: Monday, August 25, 2014, 14:41
